NBA

BOSTON — Pau Gasol blocked Ray Allen's put-back attempt at the buzzer in overtime and the Los Angeles Lakers held on to beat the Boston Celtics 88-87 on Thursday night.

Kobe Bryant had 27 points, Gasol finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum added 16 points and 17 rebounds to help the Lakers snap a two-game losing streak.

Allen scored 22 points and Kevin Garnett had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, which had won five in a row and nine of its previous 10 games. But Garnett was 6 for 23 from the field and Paul Pierce was 7 for 18, including a clean-look jumper at the end of overtime.

It rimmed out and Allen tried to push the rebound in, but Gasol got his fingertips on it and it floated away as the buzzer sounded.

"That shot that Ray Allen took was good, in my opinion," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "But Pau did not stop playing until he heard the horn, and he came up with the big block."

Notes and highlights

• Dirk Nowitzki was chosen to his 11th straight All-Star Game, with coaches overlooking the lowest scoring average since his second NBA season in favor of his long-term excellence. Boston's Pierce will join him despite his own slow start caused by a foot injury and was picked for the 10th time.

But Boston's Garnett wasn't chosen after 14 consecutive selections, and Tim Duncan was left out after 13 in a row. Other All-Star regulars such as Boston's Allen and Amare Stoudemire will be home, giving way to five first-timers among the reserves: Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol of Memphis, Andre Iguodala of Philadelphia, Indiana's Roy Hibbert, and Chicago's Luol Deng. Also headed to the Feb. 26 game are NBA assists leader Steve Nash of Phoenix, Tony Parker of San Antonio, Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City, Kevin Love of Minnesota, Chris Bosh of Miami, Atlanta's Joe Johnson and Deron Williams of New Jersey.

• Stephen Curry scored a season-best 36 points as the Golden State Warriors handed the host Denver Nuggets their fifth straight loss, 109-101. Former Cougar Klay Thompson added 19 points for the Warriors.

• Tyreke Evans scored 22 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and nine rebounds and the host Sacramento Kings rallied to beat Oklahoma City 106-101, dropping the Thunder to second overall in the NBA.